Chapter 71

 

There were twenty-six guards guarding the capital, and from Daxing Left Guard to the capital, it took an hour of horseback.

The last ray of sunset shone in, and the towering and thick city walls casted a huge and deep shadow on the ground.

There was a long queue in front of the city gate, they were either people who have left the city during the day and were now returning to the city, or caravans who came from far-away places to do business. After all, this was the capital, which was far more prosperous than other cities.

Chen Jingzong rode on his horse and silently stood at the end of the line.

Fu Gui followed beside him and murmured in a low voice: “With your identity as the Prince Consort and the Commander, you can casually call those guard to let us pass, why bother waiting here.”

In fact, his master also had a third identity as the son of the current chief minister of the cabinet, which was also useful, but Fu Gui knew that his master and his father were not got along, so he did not mention it.

Chen Jingzong glanced at him sideways: “You are quite arrogant. Do you usually use my identity to show off your power outside?”

Fu Gui’s head shrank, and he hurriedly defended: “How dare I? Besides, I follow you every day, where would I have the chance.”

Chen Jingzong: “You’d better be honest, otherwise I’ll send you to the border to serve as a soldier.”

Fu Gui quickly promised.

The master and servant stopped talking.

Although Chen Jingzong had changed into regular clothes, his majestic figure and the aura of sitting upright on horseback were enough to attract people’s attention, causing people from the front to the back of the line to look at him. The people behind could only see his back, but those at the front could clearly see Chen Jingzong’s handsome face. In one of the carriages, there was a young lady from official family who was visiting relatives in the capital. At the reminder of the maid, she couldn’t help but join in to secretly looked at Chen Jingzong from the small window at the back.

“Looking at this style, he must be a noble young master from some big family. If he is not married yet, he would be quite suitable for Miss.”

“Don’t talk nonsense about people you don’t even know.”

“It’s not hard to find out. They are not far away. I will ask the servant at the back to listen carefully later, and we will naturally know his identity.”

Soon, it was the carriage’s turn to enter the city. After the carriage passed, a boy deliberately slowed down and tilted his head to look back.

After a while, Chen Jingzong and Fu Gui passed by him on horseback.

The boy also came to his senses and ran to report to his lady: “Miss, I heard clearly, the city guard called that young man Prince Consort!”

The young lady and maid in the carriage:…

No wonder they all thought he was good, it turned out that the young master was the husband of a certain princess!

.

Chen Mansion.

After coming off duty, Chen Tingjian stayed in the cabinet for more than an hour before walking out, walking out of the imperial city along the long palace road, and then took his own carriage back to his home.

It was a coincidence that as soon as he got out of the carriage, he saw two horses coming from the entrance of the alley, who else on the lead horse’s back if not his fourth son?

Chen Tingjian snorted.

Chen Tingjian wanted to have a good talk with this son ever since the Old Four had the audacity to ask the emperor for a job as the commander of one of capital’s guards. As a result, the Old Four moved to the guard station that very day and did not return home for more than ten days. If those words were all seeds, they would have sprouted in his stomach by now!

With a flick of his sleeve, Chen Tingjian went in first.

Even though he was several houses away, Fu Gui still felt the coldness in the old man’s eyes and couldn’t help but shudder.

Chen Jingzong looked as usual.

When they arrived at the gate of the house, Fu Gui led two horses to the stables. Chen Jingzong was about to walk to Siyi Hall, but the steward guarding the door smiled and said: “Prince Consort, the Old Madam guessed that you will come back tonight, so she specially asked you to go to Chunhe Hall for dinner, Cabinet Elder said the same thing just now.”

Chen Jingzong paused and walked towards the main house.

With a large stride, the young and strong prince consort walked along the corridor of Chunhe Hall. He saw that the old man had just entered the hall, and his mother was standing on the side him talking to him.

Sun shi was about to discuss with her husband to wait a little longer, and when the Old Four came back, the family of three would have dinner together. Then before she finished speaking, the figure of the Old Four appeared in front of her.

Sun shi smiled happily and said to her husband, “Okay, you go wash your hands quickly. I’ll ask the kitchen to prepare food right away.”

Chen Tingjian:…..

He finally got home after a long day of work in the cabinet, and still have to wait for the Old Four to have a hot meal?

His wife had changed. When she was young, she always put him first, but now he couldn’t even compare to the Old Four!

Chen Tingjian’s mood became even worse.

Sun shi had already greeting her son with a smile on her face.

Chen Jingzong: “You haven’t eaten yet? Are you just waiting for me?”

Sun shi: “Waiting for you? You really think you are so handsome, don’t you? Your father has been coming back at this time recently. I am waiting for him, and I am waiting for you by the way.”

Chen Tingjian, who was about to wash his hands in the side room, snorted again.

Chen Jingzong: “How did you know I would come back today?”

Sun shi: “The Princess has sent a message home, saying that she will return home tomorrow. I guess you will definitely come back tonight. How can I not understand my own son, you can ignore your parents, but how can you not care for my daughter-in-law. ”

Chen Jingzong:…

Sun shi also pushed her son to the next room and watched the two men wash their hands and face.

There was only a copper basin on the washstand. Chen Tingjian first wiped his face with a wet towel, and now he put the towel in the water and then wiped his hands.

Sun shi brought another towel and was about to put it in the water when Chen Jingzong said disgustedly: “I don’t use the water that others have used.”

Chen Tingjian’s face darkened.

Sun shi glared at her son: “If your eldest and third brother say this, I will believe it, but you are still pretending to be particular in front of me. Who was jumping in the mud puddle every day as a child? Besides, your father sits in the cabinet every day, how much dust can he have? Even if he washed his whole body, it will still be cleaner than your face!”

Chen Jingzong looked pointedly at the old man behind: “Sit every day, be careful getting sick again.”

Chen Tingjian:……

Sun shi blinked and turned around to remind her husband: “You too, don’t let the scar heal and forget about the pain. Imperial Doctor Li is not in the capital.”

Chen Tingjian threw down the towel and went to the main room.

Sun shi asked the maid to change the water in the basin, and only then Chen Jingzong was willing to wash his hands.

At the dinner table, Sun shi kept putting dishes for her son. The young man in his early twenties, who was also a military attache, was hungry easily after working hard for the whole day.

Chen Tingjian guessed that his son would run away after dinner, so he raised the issue at the dinner table: “Since His Majesty has asked you to be the commander of Daxing Left Guard, you should do this job wholeheartedly. If you can really control the soldiers there, it shows that you still have some abilities. But you must not be proud and complacent, let alone take a mile after given an inch and ask His Majesty for another official position later.”

Based on his son’s performance in the Lingzhou Guard, Chen Tingjian believed that his son could lead the Daxing Left Guard properly. What he was afraid of was that after the Daxing Left Guard became stronger, his son would not know the high of the sky and go to other guards to find a place to use his skills.

This was not the way to do a proper job, and his son was not suitable either. The emperor’s exceptional promotion of his son to the position of commander was already a special favor.

The Old One was very good and could keep his composure. Even if he had the talent and opportunity to go to the Sixth Ministries to further develop his qualifications, the Old One was still very stable.

The dual cabinet member of father and son was always an honor, but also a danger. Others might cherish it, but Chen Tingjian didn’t care.

It was enough for him to be in the cabinet. When he got old and retire in the future, if there were other talents in the court, it didn’t matter if the Old One continued to be in Dali Temple. If the court had no talent available, the Old One would naturally show his ability and there was no need to rely on this father to enter the cabinet.

Of the three sons, the eldest and the third all listened to him and took the overall situation into consideration, but the fourth was the only one who refused to listen to his instructions and was always impulsive, catching him off guard.

Just like saying that he was going to the guard station to train troops. Fortunately the emperor did not suspect the Chen family. If it someone who were more suspicious, wouldn’t he suspect that Chen Tingjian deliberately instigated his son to say that, with the intention of getting involved in the twenty-six guards in the capital?

Now thinking about that day, Chen Tingjian was still nervous.

Chen Jingzong lowered his head to eat.

He didn’t talk back, but Chen Tingjian still sure his son was listening. Looking at his son’s slightly tanned face recently, Chen Tingjian couldn’t help but ask: “The capital’s guards are not like the local guards. Many soldiers come from famous families and noble families. After you go there, were all those people willing to listen to you?”

Chen Jingzong: “I am the emperor’s son-in-law. Who dares not to listen? Even if they go home and complain, they will only be told to shut up and endure it.”

Chen Tingjian also guessed that the most promising children of the rich and powerful all took the imperial examination route, or acquired good martial arts and held important positions. Only those playboys who were ignorant and incompetent would be sent to the guard by their families, at least it was better to get a salary than to be idle.

“Not afraid of offending a gentleman, but afraid of offending a villain. Some people may listen to you on the surface, but they may seek revenge in their hearts. Although you are the emperor’s son-in-law, if you make a mistake and are caught, His Majesty cannot openly defend you, so you still have to be careful in your words and deeds. By the way, you should drink less alcohol, otherwise one day you will get drunk and someone will take advantage of you. ”

Thinking of the behavior of those playboys, Chen Tingjian said this seriously.

While the father and son were talking, Sun shi was listening silently. At this time, she couldn’t help but nodded and followed her husband’s words of advice.

Chen Jingzong hummed casually, it was unknow whether he agreed or only perfunctory.

After he left, Sun shi unexpectedly said to her husband: “You are strange today. You didn’t lecture your son at every turn, and you spoke nicely.”

Chen Tingjian: “Is the lecture useful? If I dare to scold him, he dares to put down his chopsticks and leave. If he doesn’t come home for another ten days to half a month, I won’t even have a chance to remind him. I don’t want him to come back one day with a big hole stabbed on him, causing trouble for our whole family.”

Sun shi smiled and said: “Don’t worry, as soon as the Princess comes back, he will definitely run home every day. You can lecture your son as much as you want.”

Chen Tingjian pursed his lips.

The son was greedy for the beauty of the princess. Only wronged the princess, a noble person like her had to face a rough person like the Old Four all day long!

.

Siyi Hall.

Chen Jingzong rested in the backyard.

He didn’t need maids to keep vigil at night, so Chao Lu and Chao Lan would continue to sleep in the small courtyard specially designed for maids like them.

The two of them slept in the same room, and when they first lay down, they couldn’t help but whisper.

“Prince Consort, honestly! The Princess is coming back, and now he’s coming back too. Can’t he see that the princess doesn’t want him to come to the back yard at all?”

“I can’t say for sure, maybe the Princess and Prince Consort became affectionate while they were in Lingzhou.”

“I don’t believe it. I’ve never seen the Princess dislike someone so much. Even Concubine Lin and Princess Nankang, she doesn’t want to see.”

“It’s a pity that Zhen’er and Zhu’er are also in the palace, otherwise we can ask them.”

“Forget it, the Princess will be back tomorrow. Ah, I miss the Princess so much. It’s a pity the ancestral house in Cabinet Elder’s hometown is too small. The Princess couldn’t bring us all with her.”

That night, the two maids who were so anxious to see the princess that they couldn’t sleep.

In the main room, Chen Jingzong also turned over several times and barely managed to fall asleep after almost midnight.

The next morning, Chen Jingzong had breakfast at Siyi Hall, simply packed up, then set off.

In the palace, the four members of Emperor Jingshun’s family were in Fengyi Palace.

The crown prince was not very happy: “Sister, why don’t you stay in the palace for a little longer?”

Hua Yang: “So what if I stay a little longer? You study and practice martial arts every day, and you can only spend some time with me during dinner. When I live outside the palace, I can go shopping in the city during the day.”

The crown prince suddenly looked envious.

Hua Yang smiled and said: “It’s still hot now, but it will cool down after a while. By then Sister will take you out of the palace to play for a day.”

After speaking, she looked at her father emperor and mother empress inquiringly.

Emperor Jingshun also looked at Empress Qi. He basically listened to Empress Qi when it came to disciplining the crown prince.

Empress Qi frowned and was about to speak when Hua Yang leaned over and said coquettishly: “Mom, my brother has been studying and practicing martial arts very hard recently. You should reward him once. I will also ask Prince Consort to accompany us and bring the guards with us. What else are you worried about?”

Empress Qi looked at her daughter. Her daughter had been away from the capital for more than two years. She had gained experience and became more and more assertive. In the past, her daughter had never interfere with how she disciplined her son.

Thinking that her son had indeed been very sensible in the past half month, Empress Qi finally nodded.

The crown prince was extremely happy. He was already twelve years old, but apart from occasionally accompanying his father emperor and mother empress out of the palace, he never left the palace without being supervised by his elders!

Now, he didn’t object to his sister leaving, he just wished he could immediately set a date for leaving the palace himself.

When Chen Jingzong followed the eunuch who led the way in, he saw such a family. Emperor Jingshun and Empress Qi looked at him kindly, and the crown prince looked at him excitedly. On the contrary, Hua Yang’s expression was the lightest, although she also had a smile, but that was it. A polite smile, with no hint of intimacy between husband and wife.

There was nothing strange about it. Except in bed, at any other time, Hua Yang behaved like a princess in front of him.

Chen Jingzong saluted the emperor, empress, and crown prince in turn.

Emperor Jingshun smiled and said: “Okay, Panpan has lived in the palace for so long, you should go back now, it will get hot later.”

Chen Jingzong:…

Panpan, is that her nickname?

After being married for so long, this was the first time that he had the opportunity to listen to her noble elders called her by her nickname.

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